Why is everyone so pissed off at Rajon Rondo?

Here are some of the comments our readers directed at Rajon Rondo following his lifeless, 5 point (2-10 FG), 7 assist, 5 turnover performance last night vs Toronto:

Alex: I'm telling you right now… Rondo is the weakest link. That kid is painful to watch. His lack of effort surprises me and you would think he'd have a chip on his shoulder for not making the All-Star team. I want to see more of Moore and Bradley. I'm done with Rondo.

Classless: This is a game we'll point to once Rondo is traded. He's Antoine-esque

James: Notice the sound of the crickets chirping from all the "Rondo is the best player on our team" crowd. A truly Rondo-esque performance. No energy. He's even an awful zone defense player. But man-on-man, he couldn't stick a fork in that killer of killer point guards, Jose "Are you effing kidding me" Calderon. His comatose ball movement. His failure to close on his drives. I could go on but the rest of the team matched in his awfulness so well that it was all a VERY bad nightmare. What an embarrassing game.

Ouch. Why all the venom?

I think it's because we've set the bar high for Rondo and he's not measuring up. His statistics are a mixed bag.

The positives:

9.6 assists per game (2nd best in the league)

13.1 ppg (2nd highest ppg average of his career)

49% FG

The negatives:

1.6 spg ranks 15th in the league, 2nd lowest steals rate of his career

3.8 turnover per game is a career high

59.5 % FT

Consistency is a big problem with this kid. Fans wonder why doesn't he attack the basket more frequently? Why doesn't he play aggressive, energetic defense like Avery Bradley? (Before you rip his defense, check out this post from a few weeks ago.) How come we don't see an improvement with the free throw shooting? All legitimate questions.

The Celtics went 6-2 while Rondo was sidelined with a wrist injury. They are 3-2 since his return. Did we get a dose of life w/o Rondo and think it might not be that bad?

I've never considered Rondo "untouchable." He's an enigmatic talent with flaws. But the scathing criticism of his game is a bit dramatic.

I think his inconsistent effort at times is the problem. He tends to walk the ball up at times. For him to be really effective he has to play high energy all the time. The kid just can’t shoot and Im not sure he ever will be an effective 18 foot jump shooter. Im sure taking it to the basket and getting slammed into the photographers becomes unappealing every single game of the year.
Still love him, but do admit I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world to trade him.
(except come playoffs when he is fully engaged and impossible to guard)

KY Celts fan

Spot on. Spot on.

http://profile.typepad.com/licktheglassitol Classless

He has the same weaknesses he did 5 years ago. He can’t shoot free throws, which discourages him from using his greatest strength, his slashing ability. He can’t shoot jumpers consistently, which in a playoff series, cripples this team’s offense to the point that its 4 on 5. Yes, hes a great passer and rebounder. And yes, we know he’s tough and a gamer. But he’s plateaued. I can’t handle another playoff run where we’re wondering “what can Doc cook up to get our stagnant offense running again”?

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

i was wondering what you guys would do to avoid giving Rondo a sell in buy/sell…nice work
then you come up with this gem to defend the “superstar”..again..nice work
clearly its something that goes beyond numbers..its energy, enthusiasm and attitude and its painfully clear to anyone watching the Celtics that Rondo simply doesn’t bring that.
but great news…www.rondosarmy.com is available!

Glory

Can’t believe people are overreacting so badly. Wait, no, that’s not true. We win one, that’s it, were headed for the finals. We lose one? That’s it, blow this team up! Trade our best players! Cash in on what we’ve been building and creating for five years!
*shakes head* Let’s just take a deep breath and think calm thoughts for a second.

JT’s Hoops Blog

Simply put: Boston Celtics fans are the biggest a$$holes. The same Rajon Rondo who had to literally carry his team at the beginning of season is now being $hitted on because he has just one bad game. Come on !! Those j3rk0ff5 associate Rondo with playing with no energy. What kind of fans do u have in Beantown. I’ve seen more loyalty in Benedict Arnold and Judas Iscarot put together than I do than a Celtics fan.

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

for the record i was upset that they traded DWest to get Ray Allen and not Rondo..
this isnt a new thing for me to not like his game…and its not just one bad game this seasons..he has been outplayed by Rose, Westbrook, Collison(twice), Nash and now Calderon not to mention Noris Cole to start the year.

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

I’m not even pushing to trade Rondo..can’t get anything worth getting in return. I’m sure Danny has tried..no one wants him enough.

Nathan

i think injuries play a big factor in his game

Cha_Cs18

I didn’t watch the game last night but I can see why people are frustrated with Rondo. He can be very inconsistent at times. Now with that being said people need to stop coming at his neck. We knew there was going to be a chemistry issue when he came back. He is bot the only person to blame for those L’s. When Rondo is running the point it seems like execution is always the issue. I think people need to look at how well he played at the beginning of the year and nobody else could keep up. He was out do to injury and now because we lost he is replaceable to Bradley? People need to fall back just a little bit.

bams

he wasn’t even playing in the game against Nash. I mean you can criticize but at least come factual.

Jerry Sondler

Aloofness + Poor shooting skills + Poor FT shooting = Detractors
Danny has tried gauging RR`s true market value, by putting him and his reasonabe contract on the trading block.
Result : Despite being worshipped by some delusional Celtic “fan-boys”, no GM is willing to offer anything decent in return.

Alex

His attitude stinks. You can clearly see it when he’s on the court. He doesn’t push up the ball, he just doesn’t look active out there. This has been going on in every game since Perkins was traded.
I’m no longer gonna further defend myself because I keep sounding like a broken record.
It’s quite clear Rondo is not pushing the other team’s defense and he’s been making the offense absolutely stagnant.

I bleed green in L.A.

A point guard who can’t hit an open jumper, even when they’re daring you too? That just doesn’t cut it. He’s young, but not someone to build around, so get something for him now.
I think if Rondo was traded to a small market team, Sacramento, Charlotte, Toronto, New Orleans, etc… He would get lost in the shuffle. He wouldn’t get as much hype as he does playing with 3 Hall of Famers, wouldn’t get all the assists without these offensive weapons and still wouldn’t score that much because he can’t shoot. He’d still make some ESPN highlight worthy plays, but no longer be considered an all-star caliber player.

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

sorry they just all sort of blend together…nash has owned him in previous seasons..doubt this year would have been any different.

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

and he is going to con’t to get injured because his offense, when he graces us with it’s presence, is derived from him throwing himself into the lane because he cant hit a shot or a ft thus defenders tackle him

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

agree 110%

http://profile.typepad.com/andreas24x7 Andreas24x7

if Rondo got traded into a small market he would either have to really step it up or he would get lost in the shuffle..
he needs a full time shooting coach and he needs to learn to take direction
Tony Parker had less of a shot than RR did but he worked with a specific shot guru (the same guy also worked with grant hill) and now look at Tony..not a great shooter but a threat..thats all rondo needs to be..a threat..

http://profile.typepad.com/mannoperry Perry Manno

Rondo is fully capable of being an amazing player despite his shortcomings. The problem is, he seems to go into funks where he’s not nearly as aggressive as he should be, and our offense suffers for it. The offense is at its best when the ball is moving around the perimeter looking for the open man off curls and double screens. At times Rondo doesn’t facilitate that at all. Guards like CP3, Nash and D. Will are good enough to dominate the ball for most of the possession, but that’s not RR’s game. Too often he “dribbles, dribbles, dribbles” the ball on the perimeter for 10 seconds before trying to initiate something at the last second … and because he lacks the ability to score in isolation on the perimeter teams play off him and pack in the defense inside the paint.
On the surface his numbers are solid, but his TS/PER numbers among pg’s are pedestrian (.525 30th / 17.83 … league average 15.0).This explains why they rank 20th in offensive efficiency and the only reason why it’s not worse is because they are a good jump shooting team (#8) that shoots the 3 very well (#1). But good jump shooting + poor offensive rebounding + poor penetration + lots of turnovers is not a recipe for sustained offensive success.
Let’s also point out Danny hasn’t exactly drafted well or brought in free agents that comport with his skill set. Over the years the offense ran through Pierce and Garnett so there wasn’t an immediate need. But now they’re older, play on the perimeter more and lack a post up game. When they do get out in transition it seems RR is 10 steps ahead of his teammates on the break. Again, Rondo can’t be blamed for the lack of rebounding or points in paint, but he plays a large part in what is a very stagnant offense.

mollysdaddy

Maybe he gets tired of being the only one who pushes the ball. Time after time he runs up the court past the defense as well as his own offense. A man gets tired doing that physically and mentally it must be draining some too.
Maybe he realizes he isn’t the one who is going to win a tight game so he spends too much time trying to get others involved.
Maybe he takes a few extra chances on defense because he knows the entire defensive scheme is based upon help and rotation.
Lastly, maybe he wishes there were more fans who appreciated his skill set and his loyalty to the team while he abuses the hell out of his body trying to help this team win every single game.

Danno

The started the season 4 and 8.
The only place he was carrying this team was a chance at a lottery pick. You’re an idiot and you blog is the worst looking, most poorly written piece of garbage on the net.

noche

I’d like to see someone do an analysis of when shots come in the offense while rondo is on the court vs when he is off. I think it would be clear that far too often he dribbles a hole in the floor waiting for picks to be set and by the time anything happens its too late. Then the celts settle for a contested jumper and get no rhythm to their game.
Partially this is rondo, but I think doc and the veterans need to do something different as well. Start working in more plays with dribble penetration to keep the offense from getting stagnant.

http://yahoo.com nahfucdat

Rr gets away with it during the regular season games but is an offensive liability come playoffs. His liability is often exploited during Best of 7 game series.

http://profile.typepad.com/mannoperry Perry Manno

They average 3.5 less attempts (76.5 vs. 73) and -3 differential with him off the floor.
Overall they're a better shooting team with him on the floor and way more efficient … 102.5/100 on the floor, 95.9/100 possessions off the floor.
But the dichotomy is on defense …
90.7/100 off the court
98.1/100 on the court.
However, when you run the synergy numbers for shots and turnovers from players guarded by Rondo, he gives up 0.67 ppp, which is 15th in the league for all players (starters and reserves) at all positions who meet the minimum number of plays.
I feel the debate many of us are grappling with is can they build around him? In my view RR is a #2 or 3 type player on a championship contender because of his offensive limitations … so the answer is no.
Unlike 07'-08' he's asked to score more, which cuts into his playing making. With the exception of PP entire team depends on him to set up their scoring. Opponents know this and gladly will let him shoot because they know that’s less threatening than having him distribute. The Celtics need him to go back to what he does best and that means bringing another scorer who can create off the dribble or push transition. Unless a trade is made they won't be able to tweak either problems.
Sent from my iPad

bams

last game nash and rondo played. rondo clearly outplayed him and numerous times before, broke his ankles, etc. so I’m sure he would have brought in some energy the others guys obviously didn’t have that night.

http://profile.typepad.com/6p0115704263ce970b Papa Irish

In my opinion the answer to the question is, because we need Rondo to be a top 10 player to win a championship, he has to play at the highest level he is capable of for us to be that good, but like the rest of our team, he only shows flashes of doing just that. It is more acceptable for Ray, Pierce, and KG to only show flashes of greatness because of their age; but Rondo is in his prime, we feel like if he doesn’t take that next step soon than its never going to happen. Whether or not he is capable of being that good consistently is yet to be determined, but we feel like its long enough that we should have a better idea whether or not its going to happen.

first, blogging is journalism?
second, a blog is a platform for the writer to share his views. you don’t have to read/comment this blog. you’re better off getting your own wordpress instance and blogging in response as opposed to whining to the author in a comment. a blogger is entitled to his opinions – anything is fair game.

http://profile.typepad.com/mdsample greenbeand

wah wah, you sound like a 12 y/o girl writing in a daily diary. maybe you are? your double standard is beyond idiotic that lacks any basis or substance. too bad you weren’t one of sandusky’s victims. maybe you were.. is that “fair game” too?
go take a class in english 1 on learning how to form an idea and complete full sentences. the last thing any writer, blogger, journalist, or content reporter wants to do is publicly alienate their audience. maybe you do?
btw since day one i was fully against trading cp3 for rondo

James Eisenman

My scathing criticism is not really that dramatic. It is not based on meaningless statistics. It’s based on what one actually sees when one looks at him on the court. Incredibly gifted and incredibly stubborn and arrogant on the court. Little different than he was when he started 5 years ago. Did Magic or Bird stay the same after their first five years? Not a chance. Both worked in the off-season to improve their games. Rondo just stays the same. But it’s the defense that just drives me crazy. You can all pull out your pretend statistics about his defense but they’re just pretend. He doesn’t get up and guard his man and, as a result, nearly every guy that he’s guarded this season, has had a field day against us. It’s not drama. It’s just The Truth…and I’m not talking about PP here. Every time he has been announced as being on the first team All-Defense team, I want to crawl out of my skin. I wish Red were still around because I know what he would say. Maybe if it came out of God’s mouth, you would believe what you’re seeing. Thanks for the dig though. I think it’s cool.

http://profile.typepad.com/mdsample greenbeand

wah wah, you sound like a 12 y/o girl writing in a daily diary. maybe you are? your double standard is beyond idiotic that lacks any basis or substance. too bad you weren’t one of sandusky’s victims. maybe you were.. is that “fair game” too?
go take a class in english 1 on learning how to form an idea and complete full sentences. the last thing any writer, blogger, journalist, or content reporter wants to do is publicly alienate their audience. maybe you do?
btw since day one i was fully against trading cp3 for rondo
bbtw have a nice week you miserable piece of shit